Catalogue Double Up...

Last week we received two copies of the same catalogue in the mail.  I flipped through the first one, ignored the duplicate and put them both into the recycling.  I dredged them back out again though when my daughter asked if she could so some “snipping” with junk mail.  While my son napped we had some fun one-on-one time together playing junk mail games.  Here’s what we did with our doubled up catalogues: Game...

Backyard Baking...

Backyard baking is so much fun.  Props required?  A bowl and maybe a large spoon.  Your child might need a little encouragement to get started, but after that they will run with the activity for quite some time.  If you have cooked with your child they will probably take to this activity more readily.  Here are some open ended questions you can use to help the activity along if necessary: What are you baking today? What...

Window Washers...

While my blogging friends in the northern hemisphere are shivering through blizzards, here down under it’s mid-summer!  Keeping kids cool and busy is sometimes a challenge.  Inspired by a window washer on Playschool the other week, Little Miss 3 asked if she could do some window washing too – which I thought was a great idea!  We have a glass sliding door which worked perfectly because the kids could wash...

Nursery Adventure...

As part of our garden week the kids and I took a trip to one of our local nurseries.  There are several nurseries in our area, ranging from a small, no-frills native nursery to large cafe-designer-lifestyle nurseries.  I opted for a larger nursery because of stroller accessibility and the availability of toilets!  There are many reasons why a nursery trip is great for kids.  For starters it’s free.  And considering...

Painted Love...

My daughter seems to have had another spurt in her drawing and painting ability lately.  Little drawings of people with round tummies, funny shaped heads, stick arms and legs, and happy faces keep popping up all over the place!  The other day she asked to do some painting while her brother was asleep, so I set her up with paints and brushes and let her go for it (while I, ahem, caught up on emails). When she called...

Garden In A Week...

A weedy, gravelly mess of garden bed has been sitting near my clothesline for a very long time, just waiting for some kids to give it a little love.  Last week was the week!  There was no need to rush, and the kids enjoyed spreading the project out over a few days.  Besides – in the heat of summer it’s hard to stay in the yard for too long.  Here’s how you and your kids can have fun transforming...

Toilet Roll Nativity...

Making the toilet roll nativity scene has become somewhat of a tradition in our house.  This is the fourth Christmas with children in our home and the fourth rendition of the loo roll nativity! The first year my daughter was still very young, so I just made Mary and Joseph and a little manger for baby Jesus.  She was at the crawling and chomping stage so the characters were pretty well trashed by the time Christmas...

Nativity Felt Board...

I just love being able to get out this fabulous felt board set each Christmas.  My sister-in-law made it for my kids a couple of years ago.  The board is a simple mdf square, and the background felt is attached with velcro dots.  All of the characters are cut from craft felt.  (If fiddling with felt pieces is not for you, check out my friend Narelle’s suggestion for making nativity felt board characters using...

Three Easy Wreaths...

Nothing acknowledges that you are embracing Christmas quite like a wreath on the front door.  It says, “We’re happy it’s Christmas and we’re happy you’re here too!”  Have you got one on your door yet?  If not, here are three super easy wreaths you can make with your toddler, all using paper plates as an inexpensive base. For each of the wreaths, start with a plain paper plate. ...

Nature Games: Marble Run...

A friend of ours has a game my daughter never tires of: a marble run.  It’s the first thing she asks for whenever we visit.  She loves putting the pieces together, dropping the marbles into the hole at the top and watching them make their way down through the tubes. This week in the backyard we seemed to have an abundance of bark, so I suggested we make our own marble run using macadamia nuts.  I showed Little...